Public Education in Lightning Safety and Injury Prevention using Public Service Announcements

Grant Information
Categories	Education
Location	International
Cycle Year	2019

Organization Information
Organization Name (provided by applicant)	African Centres for Lightning and Electromagnetics Network (ACLENet)
Organization Name (provided by automatic EIN validation)
Secondary Addressee
EIN
Website	https://ACLENet.org

Contact Information
Contact Name	Mary Ann Cooper
Phone	+17083083973
E-mail	macooper@uic.edu
Address	632 Clinton Place River Forest IL 60305

Additional Information
Used for	ACLENet will design and produce Public Service Announcements (PSAs) on lightning safety to be broadcast during the evening and day time news hours in Uganda. Similar public education has been effective in Uganda to decrease HIV infections, teenage pregnancies and improve road safety. The media company we have worked with in Uganda to produce TV broadcasts, newspaper inserts and who we will work on the PSAs has the largest audience in Uganda and publishes in several of the major languages.
Benefits	There are more lightning deaths and injuries in sub-Saharan Africa than nearly any place on earth and fewer places for the population to seek safe shelter making the risk 24/7/365 for entire families. Children in school are at particular risk and are afraid to attend schools where there have been deaths. We seek to decrease deaths, injuries and property damage from lightning across Africa using public education as has been successful in other countries as well as installing world class lightning protection systems at schools.
Proposal Description	ACLENet works with parents, teachers, students, local officials and with the media in Uganda to decrease deaths and injuries from lightning and has produced television talk shows and newspaper inserts, both found to be effective for other public health threats. PROJECT: We will produce and pilot a number of PSAs utilizing proven messages incorporating photos and videos we have of lightning protected schools, students, and others at risk. AUDIENCE and REACH: While the PSAs will reach the entire viewing public, our goal is to engage parents in protecting their children and engage the children, who are the best instructors in most families. The average family in Africa has five children so reaching even one has a multiplier of 5-7. If successful, these PSAs can be used in other countries. EXPERTISE: In the US, media was instrumental in decreasing deaths from lightning from over 70/year to an average of 27/year for the past decade. Two of the leaders in that effort serve on ACLENet's Executive Committee and Boar of Directors and have worldwide connections and resources to call upon. The Executive Committee is rounded out with in-country expertise and staff. MEASUREMENT: From experience in many countries, we know that lightning injuries are under-reported at the initial stage of this work. We also know that when the media becomes more involved, they will report more incidents and injuries so that the number seems to go up, making it difficult to measure a direct effect. We are already seeing some changes: There is no longer only the 2-3 short paragraphs on a death or lightning incident. At least two journals have published articles about lightning danger and safety, cataloging multiple incidents of deaths in their countries. This is the first step in changing media coverage and interest. BUDGET - Please see attachment with background and proposed budget. Budget is based on bids we have received from production companies and are consistent with Ugandan pricing. Attachments: Cover letter Background and Budget document 501c(3) Determination Letter from IRS Current Registration as Community Based Organization in Uganda GuideStar documentation 2018 990EZ,A,B,O forms 2 papers that may be of interest The Number of Documented Global Lightning Fatalities, R.L.Holle African Centres for Lightning and Electromagnetics Network - Progress Report, M.A.Cooper et al